CBS China Bank Savings, the retail lending arm of China Banking Corporation, is now one of the few Philippine thrift banks that boast of a digital on boarding app.

This comes after the bank rolled out CBS GO, its mobile app to boost financial inclusion and speed up the shift to a cash-lite economy.

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"In a country with 70 percent smartphone penetration, the harsh reality is that majority of Filipinos are still without bank accounts," CBS Digital Business Banking Group head Adonis C. Yap said.

He added that latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) figures show that 53 percent of adult Filipinos or 41 million citizens remain unbanked.

“CBS GO is a digital component of the CBS Build & Rise program, the thrust of which is the promotion of financial inclusion, consumer confidence, and spirit of entrepreneurship that are needed for rapid economic recovery,” CBS Marketing Team Head Josephine F. Fernandez explained.

She added that, “We started the Build & Rise program in late 2021 building brick-and-mortar branch-lites in towns and secondary cities, to reach more under-banked and the unbanked Filipinos. Doing so would help bring more Filipino families into the economic mainstream.”

The app proponents said CBS GO directly supports the BSP “Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap” which aims to raise the number of Filipino adults with bank accounts to 70 percent and shift 50 percent of total retail payments to electronic channels by 2023.

“CBS GO mobile app makes it easy and affordable for entry-level depositors to open their first savings account with CBS and transition to digital transactions, in line with our financial inclusion advocacy,” Yap pointed out.

He noted that, “Our team developed CBS GO to bridge the gap for financial services in areas that CBS China Bank Savings could not reach, especially in the countryside.”

While in the past, Filipinos have lamented absence of brick-and-mortar branches, their lack of time to spend transacting over-the-counter or simply the expensive initial and maintaining deposit balances, the emergence of mobile apps like CBS GO make it quick, easy and highly affordable for them to open a deposit account and shift to the cash-lite economy.

The application can be done anytime, wherever they might be in the Philippines. CBS does not require an enrolment fee, initial deposit or maintaining balance for the personal mobile basic deposit account linked to CBS GO.

“CBS GO brings the branch direct to your smartphone. It's so convenient. You do not have to be a techie to use CBS GO. All you need is a smartphone and a data connection. No lines, no paper forms, no fees. One valid ID and a selfie lang, to create an account and verify, and you’re set to go,” said Yap.

CBS continues to evolve the app so customers will soon be able to apply for CBS loans and make investments.

“Promoting financial inclusion makes good business and good economics; we advocate inclusion because it leads to a better quality of life in the communities we serve,” Fernandez said.